FOY

On my excursions and errands of the past few days I have seen a good number of FOYs (first of the year) bird sightings.  Yesterday, on Moore Lake in Fridley I was so happy to see a pair of loons; so happy in fact I yodeled like a loon in my car. Later, at Vadnais Lake I saw blue winged teal, a great white egret, and gadwall ducks.  I am pretty sure I saw a pied billed grebe there too. A man I talked to (because he had binoculars around his  neck) said he spied a flock of thirty white pelicans flying high overhead as he drove into the park. Later I went to watch the sun sink below the horizon at Keller Lake in Saint Paul. As I walked on the board walk near Highway 36 I saw a huge eagle sitting in a tree. Someone had to point it out to me but still, I saw it. Some men were fishing and I thought I saw a  muskrat swim by. As I passed the men and looked over the railing a huge splash startled me. I had scared a beaver.  The men explained that what I had seen before were actually two baby beavers. Aw, shucks, baby beavers?  What could be cuter than baby beavers?  I got a good look at one of the baby beavers. The sunset was splendid.  And today, as I was walking around Laddie Lake in Blaine a first of the year song sparrow landed on a branch right in front of us and commenced to perform a song sparrow song. I told my walking companion that song sparrow song was performed specifically for us. The little brown bird with the black tie tack on it's chest welcomed us into it's neighborhood with a splendid performance that made us (well, me at least) very welcomed.